Ryan and I headed there for the run/hike. It was late in the morning when we got started. Ryan said he was only planning one loop, but I figured I could talk him into more.
Dressing was tricky today. It was still in the teens when we started, but it was supposed to get into the 20s later. It was also supposed to snow toward the end of the run. I didn't want to mess around, so I went with ColdGear and a fleece vest on top. On the bottom was tights and shorts. My gloves and headband were on and off as usual. Some parts of the run, with no wind, were warm. The windy parts were quite cold. So goes winter mountain running.Since I was doing more than Ryan, I let him set the pace. He doesn't like that, but it keeps me in check. It took me a couple minutes to get my GPS to get a signal. I fell behind and had to do a bit of work to catch up.
I passed a family that was hiking. The trail was in great shape, but on a Saturday, I knew there would be a lot of hikers. Even in the winter they are out. They were courteous and often moved out of the way for us. Those that saw us several times probably thought we were crazy.
I was exhausted from catching Ryan. As usual, my back was hurting too. I had Ryan take a picture of me with a snowman that someone made on the one overlook. It was clear and there was a nice view of Mt. Minsi. It wouldn't last though.
We ran here and there, but really it was just mostly a hike. We were passing some hikers while hiking. I love this type of terrain. Up and up we went. We stopped at the main overlook and had a great view of Mt. Minsi. A few hikers up there had cameras. We were then on our way.
The ridge was a little windy, but not too bad as we headed to the Blue Trail. We knew this would be a fun and fast downhill. After going by more hikers, we were ready to descend.
Ryan was leading. I decided to take his photo. However, he started flying downhill. It was smooth and fast. I couldn't hold the camera and take his picture. It would've taken some work to stay with him and I wasn't willing to do that. I wanted to be conservative for the later loops. He claims he's not a good trail runner, but he did excellent on this fast and non technical descent. It is clearly a strength for him.We got done with the first loop in under 50 minutes. I was impressed by that, as that's a good time. The smooth surface does make it easy. We refueled at the car. It had just started snowing.
I knew I could convince Ryan to go for at least one more loop and sure enough I did. This time, he wanted me to lead. I just hiked my normal pace and I pulled far ahead of him. I often couldn't even see him. I did catch a view when we got to the technical rocky stuff. By now, the snow was coming down pretty good. It was hard for me to see without a hat.
I didn't stop at the view, as there was nothing to see. The ridge part was just brutal the second time around. My face and ears were beginning to freeze, with the wind. My clothes were wet and that made me uncomfortable. There were a lot hikers here again and a lot of the same ones as earlier.
It was great to get to the Blue Trail. It was still windy, but not as bad. Again, I ran conservative downhill. This time, I couldn't see well with the blowing snow. Ryan was somewhere behind me. I figured that he might catch up.He didn't get me until the bottom, but sure enough he went past me there. I was stopping to take a photo when that happened. I had not heard him coming. We had passed another runner coming up too. Before we knew it, we were done with the second loop. That was around 50 minutes.
I debated whether or not to go out for a third loop. My gloves were wet and they made my hands cold, as we were standing there. We already had over 7 miles and 2700 feet of elevation gain. It was also snowing pretty good now. I headed on up anyway. Ryan warmed up in the car a bit.
I was hiking uphill on the first steep part. A guy was coming downhill running. It was the guy from earlier. He stopped and we chatted. He is also doing the Bear Mountain North Face race in May. I believe his name was Eric. It was good meeting him and maybe I'll run into him again.
As I was hiking up for a third time, it seemed like things had calmed down. However, it was still snowing. Also, my back was still bothering me. It was bad on the first loop, felt much better on the second loop and now was feeling kind of in between on this third loop.
I hiked a lot here. I just kept going and going. I knew the windy ridge would be tough, but short. I also knew a fun downhill awaited me. I never did see Ryan, as he left the car later.
I made sure to get a photo at the top overlook. With the snow, you could no longer see Mt. Minsi. The snowdrifts along the Blue Trail ridge were brutal. My foot sunk in a few times and it was hard to follow the trail. Hikers had just come through and their prints were already gone. It was some of the toughest conditions I ever encountered. Luckily, it was short. I had put on a face mask earlier. I knew that that was the only way I'd manage to be able to run this last loop. It was cold with the wind, but I survived.Since this was my final descent, I pushed a bit more and flew downhill. I had a hat on and it blocked some snow, but I still couldn't see well. I had fun anyway, as I went fast. I figured Ryan would have a tough time catching me now.
I ran by some more hikers and finished up. I waited for Ryan and he came a few minutes later. I took his photo, as he was done. It was a productive run all around. I was quite happy with nearly 4,000 feet of elevation gain and 11 miles. The run was faster than I had anticipated too.
My body is quite beat up. I'm running again tomorrow though. I'm hoping to run the Ugly Mudder race in Reading. It is only 7 miles or so. It will be semi challenging. I'll see some friends too. I look forward to it. Monday will be a much needed rest.
11 miles - 2:36:21 (14:13 pace) 3910 feet of elevation gain
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